Auto Express did a road test on the best selling models available at the time and the results were pretty poor, apart from one made by Bell, but I can't remember the Model no?? Basically the problem with them was that they would pick up a GATSO, (grey box camera at the roadside or over head cameras as seen on the M25), but quite often would not pick the GATSO type up until you were in the radar beam which by then is a tad too late. Also, they would not pick up Laser (LIDAR), which is the tripod or door mounted point and squirt speed traps that the Plod so dearly love to use, until the Laser beam had hit you. Again it was too late, so what's the point ? However, all this was done nearly a year ago and as you know Technology moves at an incredible rate.

In July, (of this year), I happened across an advert for a radar scanner that would, pick up Gatsos, Lasers, basically you name it, it would do it, this Detector was the "Escort Solo", American made, very reputable, good history blah, blah, blah. But the best thing about was, IT CAN BE USED ON A MOTORCYCLE !! Yee Haa, just what we want in our war with plod, forearmed is forewarned, as they say !!

Anyway, I called the Company that was advertising them, Driven Systems of Lanarkshire, and spoke with the boss no less, one David Baxter. We spoke at length about the product and how it could be used and should be used - please remember a Detector is a tool not a gimmick !! Once I had it clear in my mind that I did want one of these, I asked for a money back guarantee if it was as good as David had said. This he wouldn't give, but he did say "If it doesn't do what I have said it does, I will refund your money". This to me was as good as a money back guarantee, so we negotiated a price and I waited.

Within a couple of days it arrived, all nice and compact, (approx. the size of a fag packet). I inserted the batteries (supplied) and turned it on. Excellent, there were little flashing lights and different beeps etc. It had a windscreen mount bracket and an ear piece (however the ear piece reminded of the type my Dad used for his transistor radio in the mid to late 1960's, but hey, it's an ear piece). I quickly looked at the cover of the instruction manual and took this with me, I had to road test this thing and road test it NOW!! Off I went in my car, in search of Gatso, Laser anything Plod could through at me, as they couldn't nick me, I was above the law now matey !!

That evening I found 3 Gatsos and parked next to them with my Detector pointed at them and it did bugger all !!. I promptly called David Baxter and he explained that only 1 in 12 Gatsos is actually "LIVE", but not a lot of people know that ? Fair enough I thought, I'll give him and it the benefit of the doubt, after all this thing had cost me 280 quid and it HAD to work.

On the Saturday I was off to Brands Hatch for the practice of the World Super Bikes, so I thought it would be good to test it on my bike. I attached the bracket to the inside of the fairing screen, placed the ear piece in my ear and put on my lid. Ear piece is a bit uncomfortable I thought, but I'll get used to it. I rode off to meet my mates and off we went. After about 20 miles we ended up on a road that had some bumps in them, as soon as I hit them, bing, off came the detector, bracket and all and proceeded to bounce nicely along the not so soft asphalt surface. I stopped and picked it up only to find that it still worked, and in one piece, however it didn't look new anymore.

The next week I called David Baxter at Driven Systems to complain about the mounting bracket and to state that I felt the advert placed for this item was a tad misleading, as unit I had purchased was not at all suitable for a Motorcycle. He didn't agree and took offence as he had produced the advert himself. I asked him if he had tested the item on a Motorcycle with the ear piece fitted, he hadn't, because neither he nor non of his staff were Motorcyclists !!

I called Escort in the States. Very helpful too they were, not only did they offer to replace it under warranty, they also informed me there is a bracket they sell to loads of Motorcyclists that has a universal fitting and ensures the unit will not fall off your bike. However, this was an aftermarket item. Nevertheless, I sent it back to them and while I was waiting for it to be returned............again, I called David Baxter and explained the situation to him. He did not know about a Universal fitting bracket and then proceeded to insult my intelligence by not "realising" it was not suitable for a Motorcycle as is! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I explained, (without losing my rag) that I had purchased an item for a considerable amount of money, after having read his advert and spoken to him at length for reassurance and then he refuses to replace it under warranty, but it's strange that the manufacturer would. What sort of a business is this man trying to run and how many other poor folk have been ripped off by him ??

Anyway, I now have the replacement item and have been able to road test it at will. Yes, it does pick up GATSO cameras on the M25, and yes, it does pick up some GATSO roadside cameras that are "switched on", before you get to them, but it doesn't pick up all of them, as I went through one in Cambridgeshire last week and it beeped at me whilst I was in the radar beam, not before, so it's no good. On the strength of that I doubt very much it will pick up Laser either. It's brilliant at picking up Traffic Lights though !! so at least I now know where they all are.......as if that's of any help ??

The item is going back and I'm demanding a full refund. If I don't get it, as I suspect I won't, I'm going to pursue it with Trading Standards etc. and I'll let you know how I get on. The moral of this story is, BEWARE !! These Speed trap systems may work well in the States, but you'll find it hard to find one that does in the UK. Obviously, technology on these fronts has not moved forward at all ?

Also, I would not recommend that anyone buys anything from Driven Systems or David Baxter without fully satisfying themselves that they can obtain a proper refund if the item doesn't work as intended/advertised.

PS Update: David Baxter has turned out to be a bit of a diamond, as he has replaced the detector foc with an improved Bell item. Apparently quite a few of the Escort models turned out to be a bit crap and he is now promoting the Bell units. Mine seems to be working well .... the only trouble is, the first speed gun I have seen for months was yesterday, and I didn't have the bloody detector switched on!!! Luckily I was riding like an old woman so I didn't get tugged.

Radar Detectors - Update

Since my last article, proclaiming that I had been considered a good enough Customer of Networx, (formerly Driven Systems, not sure why the company name change?) and had been fortunate enough to have my Escort Solo Cordless Radar Detector exchanged, (FOC) for a BEL 945 I Cordless, I have now had more than enough time to road test it effectively and compare it to the Escort. My findings are below;

Upon receipt of the BEL 945 I, I was impressed to notice the fact that this radar detector was sold specifically with the motorcyclist in mind, as it had a picture of a Triumph Daytona type thingy on the box! "Brilliant, this is what I should have bought in the first place", I uttered. I opened the box to get at my new license keeping tool (toy) and to my amazement it had the following as accessories;

1/ A proper ear piece speaker that velcroes inside your lid.
2/ A plug about 12" from the ear piece so it's easily detached when you remove your lid, but don't have to remove the speaker each time.
3/ A mirror type affair that slots on the detector itself, so you can have the detector located in your pocket, thus not having to keep the detector unit at a horizontal level.
4/ Various car windscreen attachments.
5/ Batteries.

So for starters, I was impressed, as the Escort solo had only had items 4 and 5 when it arrived. Oh, it did have item 1, but it's not worth mentioning really, it was that bad.

The only doubt I had was the fact that it still did not look that suitable to fit it inside the screen of my GSXR, again, without drilling holes in the screen. "Before I go doing anything like that, I'll see if the thing works, by testing it in me car", I said to myself.

Once the batteries were fitted and the windscreen mount in place, I read the instructions on different bleeps and letters defining, K = Gatsos, L = Lasers, X = Traffic Lights and harmless things. It was all very similar to the Escort Solo, but it had different flashing colours and the whole item looked far better in terms of quality, equipment, information etc.

I placed it in my car and proceeded to test it. It still beeped at traffic lights way off in the distance and seemed to have many false alarms, (but you can reduce this with a City mode function). It even beeped at Gatsos, especially the ones on the M25 overhead gantries, and picked up some of the ones that are located at roadside, but this can be confusing as dependant on volume of traffic in your immediate vicinity and the size of vehicle directly in front of you, it will give off signals at different distances, of course. Best to leave a good gap between yourself and the vehicle (especially if it's a high sided lorry or similar) ahead for it to give you between 20 and 50 metres of warning .... although then you'll be doing the same speed as the lorry so the radar gets a bit pointless! I must admit though, as long as you have good battery life, it will always warn you in advance of a Gatso, (if the Gatso is ON), I've not had it warn me when I'm directly in the Gatso's beam, so there's a difference straight away over the Solo and it definitely saved me on the A3 a few weeks ago without a doubt, there's 50 quid towards it's cost. However, I still have to find a laser gun. Every time I've seen one, I've not had it turned on or, I'm on me bike (more of that later) or I'm not in my car etc. etc. so I'm still not convinced this is a 100% reliable tool, but it's not blimmin' bad and certainly better than the other effort I tried.

The real problems;

1/ As I say I don't feel I can trust it enough to go around ignoring speed limits everywhere and more fool any person that would anyway.
2/ I really bought it for the bike, not the car, but it does seem impractical for sports bikes. The reasons why;
a) When riding a sports bike your body position is not upright enough to have the detector in a breast pocket and be pointing in the correct direction. Also, most leathers don't have breast pockets !!
b) When riding a sports bike the suspension is such that you get a firmer ride and therefore where ever the detector is attached it will wobble about, not good when trying to detect laser beams that are static.
c) There isn't anywhere really to place the item on a sports bike unless you drill holes through your VERY expensive screen and that's not a good idea really.
d) The higher you have the detector located the better it works, but sportsbikes are not known for their high screens and long front forks, unless you have an EXUP or a GSXR 1100 BC, (only joking, Ian, Wayne and anyone else of course).

Conclusion - So, again I have not found this item to be suitable to ALL kinds of Motorcycle, certainly cruisers and tourers would be better, but they don't often break speed limits, so there's not much point. However, it is a good improvement over the Solo, so marks out of 10 ?

3/10 = Escort Solo
7/10 = BEL 945 i (but very good in the car).

That's it for now and unless I end up with another one, this is the final chapter on Radar Detectors.

Ref all your info on radar detectors - v interesting. If you really feel the need to continue your investigations you need to buy direct from the US & stick to the top end models from BEL or Escort. The Escort 8500 would be good as it has an earpiece provision or a BEL 970,980 or 990 but they don't have a jack for an earpiece. I have a BEL 980 which is available for around $220 in US, the Escort can be bought for $290 at Best Buy. The main advantage of these models apart from their increased sensitivity (about 200 metres for Gatsos) is that the annoying X band can be switched off. I have tested mine in the car & it works fine so now I have to mod it to add a plug for the power, an earpiece & a form of secure mounting - probably inside the fairing.
Nick Edwards

But before you rush out and buy a detector you'd better read what Adolf Blair and the wankers at Marsham Street bunker are up to. "For you, Tommy, ze speeding is over" Must make all those old boys who fought in the war for "freedom" wonder why they bothered ....

BANNING SPEED ENFORCEMENT DETECTORS - REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT ISSUE The Government is proposing to make secondary legislation to ban the installation and use of speed enforcement detection devices. BACKGROUND Until January 1998 the use of speed enforcement detection devices was considered to be illegal in England, Scotland and Wales under Section 5(b)(i) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949. However, a judgement by the Queens Bench Divisional Court found that the Act did not specifically preclude their use. Successive governments have considered speed enforcement detection devices to be objectionable - the sole purpose of these devices is to allow drivers that speed to do so with impunity. This view was not altered by the judgement on the application of the Wireless telegraphy Act. Indeed, since the ruling the current government has been looking for a way to reinstate a ban. Since the ruling an unidentified number of companies have begun to sell this equipment. Some claim their devices help motorists slow down by identifying approaching safety cameras. This in itself implies that those motorists will maintain an excessive speed when they believe they will not be caught. Ultimately, motorists would not require such devices if they were complying with the law, and speed limit signs and speedometers are all that a driver requires to enable them to do so. RISKS The risks of introducing legislation are hard to quantify. There is no official trade association for companies selling the devices. Whilst advertisements regularly appear in automotive magazines, few of the companies adopt a high profile. It is not known how many companies are involved in the trade, nor how many devices are sold each year. It is therefore impossible to assess the precise cost to business. However, what is certain is that: · The proposal to re-introduce legislation covering speed enforcement detectors will have an impact on those companies that make or sell the devices. · Some companies may rely heavily on the income generated by the sale of detectors and a ban on detectors could put some out of business. That said, the trade itself relies upon customers breaking the law. BENEFITS The benefits of re-introducing legislation to ban speed enforcement detectors are more clear cut. In 1999 there were 3,423 people killed and over 320,000 injured on our roads. Research suggests that excessive and inappropriate speed is a contributory factor in around one third of all road accidents. · A ban on the use of speed enforcement detectors would make the threat of enforcement a more potent deterrent. This will assist the Government in its target to reduce deaths and serious injuries on our roads by 40% by 2010. · It is estimated that each road fatality costs in the region of £1million. As such the likely reduction in speeds (and accidents) would not only reduce human suffering, but also deliver a substantial saving in financial terms. COSTS · As indicated, it is not possible to assess the size of this trade. All we do know is that devices range in price from £50-£60 to around £550 depending on the particular model. SECURING COMPLIANCE · The police are keen to see their powers to prosecute motorists who use these devices re-instated and are likely to be in favour of this legislation. · The proposal would create an offence of using detection devices in a motor vehicle. The offence would attract either a fixed penalty notice (currently £60) with a three point licence endorsement, or a Court can impose a fine up to £1000 with a three to six point licence endorsement. · In addition, The SI amending The Wireless Telegraphy Apparatus (Receivers)(Exemption)(Amendment) Regulations, would make it an offence to install or use these devices in a motor vehicle without a licence. The maximum penalty for this offence would be £5,000 in a Magistrates Court. CONCLUSION We do not believe a full Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) is required for the following reasons; · Only those people who break the laws, and those who seek to profit from this activity will be affected by the proposal. · Effectively we are re-instating powers that previously existed. · The benefits clearly outweigh the potential disadvantages. Copies of the consultation document can be obtained from Ian Edwards, Road Safety, DETR, 2/13 Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DR (Tel: 020 7944 2058). The consultation letter and draft SIs are also being placed on the Department's web site at www.detr.gov.uk. DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS, ROAD SAFETY DIVISION, ZONE 2/13 GREAT MINSTER HOUSE, 76 MARSHAM STREET LONDON SW1P 4DR. TELEPHONE: 020 7944 2058 FAX: 020 7944 2029 GTN CODE: 3533 2058

Tough if you're in the business - wave bye bye to your employees. Still, which of those tossers in New Labour or the Civil Service ever knew or cared about wealth creation? All they know is how to spend our money for us.